That Road To The Sky
by darthluna01
Summary: Roughly 4 years after VOTF, forty-one year old Mara Jade Skywalker finds herself pregnant. The humorous, emotional, and reflective chronicle of the Skywalkers' journey from conception to childbirth.
1. Introduction

In all my years I have found that people -regardless of circumstance- are prone to be attracted to one another. In particular, people are attracted to other people of the opposite sex. And in the event that a mutual attraction occurs, it may blossom into a loving bond to form a couple. Furthermore, the couple in question, if truly in love, or for other ulterior motives, will choose to formally define their unique relationship with a marriage.

And if there is any intimacy included in said marriage, it will most inevitably produce children.

Such was the case of Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker.

* * *

Mara groaned as she sensed the light of midday flickering across her face. She turned underneath Luke's arm, trying to avoid the brightness. Yet the gesture was of no use. Sleeping, or even the slightest bit of idleness after waking from a decent night's sleep was inconceivable to the former Emperor's Hand. Punctuality and precision were in her blood. Two green eyes blinked drowsily as the lips below it parted to release a habitual morning yawn.

She gently pushed away her husband's grasp, before swinging her bare legs over the side of the bed. Pulling on a dressing robe, she stumbled into the refresher and turned the dial for the shower water. Refreshing waves of steam and hot water cascaded down her head and shoulders as she adjusted to being fully awake.

Ten minutes later, Mara emerged wrapped in a towel and hair dripping wet. It was only after she had raked a comb through her hair, twisted it into a braid, and then started brushing her teeth while looking into the mirror that she realized what had happened in between last night's activities and this morning's well-deserved slumber.

Mara's green eyes were wide with surprise as she spat toothpaste and saliva into the sink.

Immediately, her brain froze while she just stood in front of the 'fresher mirror.

"Mara, what's wrong?" Luke's slightly groggy voice came from the bedroom. He could sense her shock, but was still too tired to understand its source. Mara heard the sound of sheets sliding against each other, followed closely by the soft patter of footsteps on carpet.

But too paralyzed was she in both body and mind to respond to her husband's query. She tried forming words with her mouth, but only achieved in looking like a fish out of water as her lips moved noiselessly. She felt extremely vulnerable in just a wet towel; as if the reality of the situation were about to attack her.

"Love, " Luke placed a hand on her damp shoulder. "What is it?"

A dam in Mara's head had been broken by the physical interaction. Several different, panicky thoughts entered her brain, and all she could do was glare most fiercely upon her partner, and exclaim in a rather dazed tone:

"We're pregnant."

* * *

**A/N: I know I've got tons of other projects to do, but since I wrote this and have it laying around, I'd like to post it. For starters, I present a small intro.**


	2. Acceptance

A/N: Note that I do not follow any other canon than the films and the Thrawn novels. Oh, and let's just pretend that Callista existed. Other than that, the events with Luke turning to the Dark Side during Leia's second pregnancy, according to me, did not happen. Clarifying this bit to get rid of any potential confusion.

* * *

Mara Jade wasn't an emotional sort of person. She didn't like to talk about her "feelings" and she certainly never gushed with tears. All her life, she had been trained to wear a mask over whatever innocence she may have had, and if there were any doubts or insecurities, to get rid of them immediately. So it was understandable that when she learned that she was pregnant, Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand, had no idea what to feel. Meanwhile, Mara Jade Skywalker, former smuggler and almost-Jedi Master, was just as confused as she was extremely protective. Or, as some would call it, paranoid.

If one asked, Mara would say that the idea of bearing children had never occurred to her before. But she would be lying, for she had, ever since meeting Luke Skywalker, played with the idea of having her own family. Each time before she had begun to realize that she loved Luke, she would discard the idea with one of her more Emperor's Hand-induced sentiments. Even now, she didn't consider herself capable of raising a child. Raising an apprentice? Yes. A child? No.

Unlike sweet, naive farmboy Luke Skywalker, Mara's only parental figure during her childhood had been a certain power-hungry madman, and that was _definitely _not a good example to raise your children by. She didn't have any experience at all in those "family" areas - she'd never had one to look up to.

Yet now that _this was really happening, _Mara was panicking. As much as she wouldn't have admitted it before, she did want this baby. Even if she didn't deserve to grow a new life, Luke did. In twenty years she wanted to look back on the world and discover that she created something that was really, really wonderful. Or rather, that she and Luke had created something. One thing both Emperor's hand Mara and smuggler-Jedi Master Mara were both sure of, was that she _needed _this baby.

The idea that plagued her was this: what if it was actually all a cruel trick by the Force? What if she miscarried and then _proved _that she didn't deserve children?

She shook her head. She was being ridiculous.

_Snap out of it, Jade, _she said to herself.

_Working on it, _she also said to herself. Great. Now she was talking to different parts of herself. Maybe this pregnancy was affecting her brain quicker than expected. Mara remembered Leia being level-headed enough during her pregnancies. Not to mention that the first one had taken place with a war going on.

Just then, she heard Luke coming out of the shower, happy as a clam. He was going to be a father. As Mara thought about that, it suddenly struck her that everyone in the Academy would know. Kriff, the whole galaxy would know if it got out. This was not good.

"Uh... Luke?" She began nervously.

Smiling and damp, he said, "Yes, Mara?"

"Can we... wait a little? I mean on the telling part."

There was pause. Clearly, Luke's chain of thought took some time to adjust to hers. Nonetheless, he quickly realized what his wife meant. A towel draped around his middle, the Jedi Master entered the room, a look of consideration on his face.

"I think it's a good idea we don't broadcast the news. We don't want a Holonet crew standing around the Academy twenty-four seven. Now that I think about it, the only reason Leia's pregnancies weren't as publicized was because there was already enough going on with Thrawn when Jaina and Jacen were born that the press didn't have time. And then Leia was on vacation on that remote island by the time Anakin arrived. You, on the other hand... Yeah, it's better if we keep it quiet. But the Academt will know," he reminded her.

"Unless I shield it. I can do that for about the first two months." Luke sat down onto the bed gently, placing a warm hand on her shoulder - something he was often apt to do when he tried to be consoling. His sister did it too - must have been a Skywalker thing.

"Whatever you feel is best. I know that among all the evil in this galaxy, you rank the media as the devil incarnate. Just allow me to tell Han and Leia - they won't say a word. Not even to the twins and Anakin."

Mara smiled knowingly; the twins, now blossoming teenagers, were becoming better at keeping secrets to themselves. Anakin, on the other hand, had a tendency to let things slip. "Of course," she replied.

"Oh, and Skywalker," said Mara as Luke went to the bathroom to get dressed, "if you ever, in the next nine months even suggest that I wear those stupid maternity clothes, I will vape you where you stand."

"Dually noted," her husband agreed, grinning.

"Good," she smirked. Mara fell back on the bed and allowed herself a small nap - she could care less about assassin training. This was a long enough morning that she should have to go through the rest of the day tired.


	3. Ignorance

A month had passed since Luke and Mara's happy discovery. Mara had done her best not to interact with any of the other Jedi in the Academy outside of the privileged circle who was privy to their secret. She spent most of her time training by herself and catching up on work that she could do in solitude. Other than the dozen or so people who knew of Mara's pregnancy, she was able to shield the fact from everyone else.

That would all change after the Skywalker's received a com call from a certain former smuggler...

* * *

"And what did he say?"

"Mara, stop worrying. He's just going to drop by for a little visit. He's practically your-your--" Luke struggled to find a word that wouldn't get him a night on the couch.

"My what?" Her brow rose questioningly.

The Jedi Master smiled back at his wife. "Your good friend."

"That was a close one, farmboy."

Luke was currently in the process of sorting through class repertoire while Mara attempted to finish her research on Ilum's geography and history, a feat which proved to be less than titillating. The couple would soon be supervising the dispute over the sales distribution of Adegan crystals. Thanks to a small number of merchants and easy businesspeople, the crystals were now a profitable jewelry market in addition to being used for the construction of lightsabers. As the head of the Jedi order, Luke had been alerted to the dispute and was now required to participate in the legal proceedings.

He sighed in half exhaustion and half irritation, quickly running a hand through his hair. "I don't see why they can't just mine somewhere else. There are enough gems and jewels in the galaxy that they don't have to start charging us to make a lightsaber."

"Well lucky for us, that's what we get to tell them when we get there. Too bad Leia can't be involved - she would probably have them signing an order for the restriction of Adegan crystals to Force-users within the first half-hour," Mara chuckled.

"Probably," Luke swung around in his chair to face his wife, who was reclining on the couch. For the past month he'd been slipping these minute-long gazes at Mara. She tried not to notice, but in her own way she liked that he did it. It was his own way of recognizing that she was pregnant. Since the morning that she had found out, they hadn't really gone in depth about planning. There was a silent agreement that until it became noticeable, the subject was not a matter of discussion.

It wasn't as if Mara didn't enjoy the thought of having a baby - in fact, she had come to terms with preparing to be a parent. This "period of silence" was something that she had initiated in order to prepare for preparing. She needed to have her own time to think about what she wanted to say, to express, and just what this baby would mean in general. She didn't want to rush into it despite the amount of rushing that her food was doing up her digestive tract.

Through their bond, Luke understood what she needed. In his own way, he thought he may have needed it as well. He also knew that the reason Mara was fretting so much over Karrde's visit was the pressure it would bring on her. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mara greatly valued Karrde's opinion not only as a businessman but also as a friend. During her tenure under his organization, Talon had given her respect and appreciation for her work, as well as unwarranted good advice.

He was one of the few people that Mara truly trusted. Keeping her pregnancy a secret wasn't the thing that bothered her above all - it was more so that seeing Karrde would prompt her to worry about her pregnancy in general. The silver lining to the situation was Karrde's lack of Force-sensitivity. Had Leia somehow been visiting, they would have definitely been in trouble.

Luke's dreamy gaze got interrupted when Mara unceremoniously threw her files onto the adjacent coffee table and ran towards the refresher. Seconds later, he recognized the sound of the toilet flushing. He and Clighal were still trying to figure out the proper remedy for morning sickness. Despite the many civilian medications that most non-Force-sensitives were used to taking, Jedi pregnancies seemed to be another arena.

"Okay, that's something I could really do without. Why can't humans be one of the species where both genders can get pregnant?"

"Thankfully, they're not." He grinned when Mara afforded him a smack upside the head. She used the same hand to cover her mouth in a yawn.

Luke hooked her arm around her waist in a semi-hug. "Tired?"

"Kind of. I had a class of rowdy Padawans this afternoon, teaching them how to sneak up on people. It'll be worse tomorrow when I help the remedial students. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna hit the sack."

She was going to need it. Desperately.

* * *

Stay tuned, folks...


End file.
